Ticks that live for 8 years don't need to be eaten in the laboratory

In a new study published in the journal Medical Entomology, the Argas brumpti tick can live up to 27 years in the laboratory, including eight years without food, setting a new record for this animal, Newsweek on February 23 reported. believe. Julian Shepherd, an associate professor of biological sciences at Binghamton University in New York, also found that female ticks can store sperm and reproduce four years after the last male in the group died.

A species of tick with the scientific name Argas brumpti lives for 27 years in the laboratory of Julian Shepherd, an associate professor of biological sciences.

Argas brumpti is a soft tick found in southern and eastern Africa. Shepherd was presented with ticks collected from Kenya in 1976 and decided to study them in a stable environment set up in the laboratory.

The tick group consisted of 6 adult females, 4 adult males and three Argas brumpti larvae. At that time, the Shepherd could not have predicted that they would live for several more decades, setting an unprecedented record for the persistence of ticks.

"I've always been passionate about studying how organisms adapt to their environment. In this case, an arid environment, with almost no access to water for long periods of time, and they have to go through long periods of time without have food before reaching the host," Shepherd said.

The group of ticks lived on mice and rabbits in the lab, until Shepherd decided not to bring these hosts anymore. Male ticks go on to live 4 years without food. The females lived for another 4 years, after which the Shepherd started feeding them again. One of the original females spawned again. It lays eggs even though the last male died 4 years ago.

One possible explanation, Shepherd said, is that ticks can store sperm for long periods of time. "Their persistence seems to be a record for any tick. The late spawning may indicate long-term sperm preservation, which seems to be a record for any tick species. ", he said.

Like these ticks, other animals can also survive long periods without food, such as water bears. This tiny creature can live without food for 30 years. Olm, a cave salamander, can live without food for a decade. Meanwhile, large crocodiles can go through a year without food.

The record-setting group of ticks is being turned over to South African scientists for further testing. "Research into how organisms master such challenges may yield additional information about how other organisms, including humans, cope with similar challenges," Shepherd said.